A shadow lies on Thranduil and his forest, and only a power stronger than the darkness of old can save them.
Grief and loss have turned him into a king with a heart of ice, and if he is ever to find redemption, the chains of guilt and remorse holdin...
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What if we welcomed change in, Or opened up just enough To let it begin? (Sleeping At Last: Resolve.)
The open door between the two royal chambers remained the topic of many curious conversations in the palace over the course of the next few days. When Thranduil had ordered for the tapestry with the stag to be hung on the opposite wall and the seamstress was called to adjust the king's old robe to fit Anna's size, it seemed that a fresh breeze was slowly but surely sweeping away the dust of centuries from those ancient halls of the Woodland Realm. Anna herself would have been perfectly content to remain in that joyous bubble that was the first kiss she had shared with Thranduil. If it had been up to her, she would have wanted to stay forever wrapped up in his arms, their locked lips the only thing that mattered in this world or any other. But of course she knew that this was a wish that was as desirable as it was unrealistic, so she turned her attention to what lay ahead. It had become obvious that her medical condition had improved significantly, so neither Thranduil nor Brethilwen kept enforcing their previous rigorous rules of confining Anna to her bed. Apparently all it had taken was a little bit of tenderness from the Elvenking, so Thranduil made good on his promise to kiss her ever so often, filling their days with sweet moments of intimacy. She was grateful for every single one of them, even if they were just brief, due to the many obligations Thranduil had to attend to in preparation for the arrivals from Dale. To her delight she had been given leave to not only move around freely in her own rooms, but she had also been granted access to Thranduil's chambers, within reasonable limitations of course. After all, he was the king and that extended even to the privacy of his chambers, where meetings were held, politics discussed and decisions taken regarding the safety of his lands. He had not forbidden her to partake in any of these matters, but she felt that this was something she had no right to interfere with. And even if the thought of sneaking into his bedchambers in the dead of night might have been very tempting, she adhered to the rules, just like he did too, never making an inappropriate attempt to push too far, but rather allowing their tender bond the time it needed to grow.
Anna waited anxiously for the return of the elven army and with them the fabled wizard, who finally might unlock her path towards a possible future by helping her recover her past. What she would barely even admit to herself was that, alongside her excitement, the fear of what the uncovering of her past might bring also grew. Now that she had this precious memory of their kiss to cherish, she was even more terrified of losing this beautiful moment. And for what? To regain an uncertain past? Memories she might not even want to see? What if there was terror awaiting her and she gave away her present life for nothing? She did not want to confide her mounting worries in Thranduil, because she feared that this would only reenforce his wish that she remained oblivious of her past. The reluctance on his face, when she had asked him to perform the spell to bring back her memories, had been all too obvious and she knew that if he would see her wavering in her resolve, it might make him want to persuade her to change her mind at the last moment.
